Richard Branson is widely known for his bold stunts. He’s attempted to break world records circumnavigating the Earth in a balloon, crossing the English Channel, and crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

I’ve always assumed it was Branson’s boldness and taste for risk that made him an incredible entrepreneur (his Virgin Group now owns over 400 companies).

That is, until I met John Corcoran.

John notes that Branson credits his success to his ability to build relationships with others. Wow! What? I didn’t see that coming.

In this podcast John shares some incredibly valuable insight into exactly what it is that propels some of our favorite entrepreneurs, and also how we can build the same skills that helped them succeed.

Jason Cohen has done something few others have succeeded at: He’s bootstrapped a business. He knows what it takes to go from fledgling idea to seven figures in revenue.

And he’s done it four times.

While most aspiring entrepreneurs dream of being where Jason is today, he’s quick to point out that focusing on the goal of “success” (whatever that means) will ultimately lead to failure and heartache.

In this interview Jason shares:
– one incredibly valuable skill for any leader to have (and how to develop it).
– how to make sure you’re focus is in the right place to succeed.
– the characteristic that sets Jason apart.

Whether your dream is to be a serial entrepreneur like Jason, or a much different path, Jason’s wisdom, experience, and insights into what it really takes to be successful will be an asset to your journey.

Most people aren’t natural born high performers. They start out just like us. They go to the same schools, learn the same things, and probably even start a traditional career.

But at some point they wake up and realize they don’t want to be just like everyone else. They want a Life Stoked.

I love asking these people about what they see when they look back at that moment. What was something holding you back at the time that you let go of?

Andy Traub shares some incredible wisdom with us today from years of experience, practice, and growth. For Andy the thing holding him back was taking permission. When Andy learned to quit raising his hand to use the bathroom a whole new world of opportunities opened up for him.

On today’s show Andy shares with us some practical steps you can use to take permission and start building your own Life Stoked.

Listen now: 016: Where taking permission can take you (with Andy Traub)

A year ago nobody knew who Jared Easley was. He had dreams of becoming a professional speaker, and goals of connecting with successful people, but it wouldn’t be easy starting from scratch.

Fast forward to today and Jared has interviewed, helped, dined with, introduced, and befriended some of the top names on the internet (Seth Godin, Michael Hyatt, and Chris Brogan to name a few).

Jared is a master connector and gives us a peak behind the curtain today at the mindset that fueled his success. This is not just another “how to network” interview. I was blown away by the simple shift in mindset that sets Jared apart from everyone else.

Starting something new is hard. Starting something new that other people are excited about too is even harder!

As they say, most businesses don’t fail because they couldn’t do what they set out to do. Most businesses fail because they create something that nobody wanted in the first place.

That’s exactly what Bernie did the first time, and it was an expensive lesson to learn. But Bernie was far from done. He took the lessons he learned from doing things the wrong way, and was able to turn it into a success in a very short time on his next venture just one month later.

Bernie shares some proven wisdom from the trenches of the software startup world about how to find and do the work that matters, and face your fears along the way.

The end of last year was challenging for me. At the time I was debating moving forward or pulling the plug on a startup I’d invested months in.

In the middle of that decision I discovered some habits, behaviors, and beliefs that were a significant road block to moving forward. So I went on a quest to learn more about why I was struggling so much with something seemingly so benign.

What I learned through my research has completely changed everything for me. Not only did it help me change some relatively trivial habits, but it also helped me do big, scary things (like launching this podcast).

In this interview I share the key that has helped me flip the switch on some tough behavior changes, and the exact steps to take so you can do the same thing.

When you want to be successful it’s hard to know where to start. In this day and age you probably don’t have to look very far to find other people succeeding at what you want to be doing.

Usually the first thing we do is copy what’s working for someone else.

That can be a great place to start and a really good way to get some early momentum. It’s not where you want to stay for long though.

Theresa Campbell is with us today and talks about the importance of being true to who you are. Theresa is an author and a coach who teaches people how to get crystal clear on who they are, what they want, and then helps them get there.

Theresa shares in this interview:
– the key to success and the key to life.
– how to keep her business and her full time job going strong.
– the importance of finding help and support from others